The Insurrection of the Inept Hero

Chapter 127: The Diverging Dungeon III

I've been inside this room for about a minute now, examining the chains.

Hmm, if I had a bow, I could definitely move around on these chains and use them as a vantage point.

I don't have a bow, but I can use Banishment. Caustic Blue and Lapis Lotus will be very useful. I could also use Leviathan since flooding this room will be to my advantage, but I still need to know what the boss can do.

Anyway, I've been searching for the boss for a while now.

A few seconds later, I spotted something at the end of the room. On closer expectation, it looked like some kind of coffin.

There were chains wrapped around it, probably to detain whatever is inside. If I were to guess, it would be the boss.

Well then

With a swift swing from my sword, I cut the chains. The moment those chains had disconnected, the top of the coffin shot to the ceiling.

I heard chains rattle from behind and I looked over my shoulder. Behind me was a figure with black scales, towering over me. It had chains wrapped around its body with two blades dangling at the end of two chains. It had a giant maw with long, jagged fangs for a face and spikes growing from the back of his head and body.

So this is the boss, huh?

It didn't act hostile nor did it give off the sense of bloodlust. Its presence was so calm, yet so odd.

As much as I wanted to talk about its aura, I had to remember the task at hand. I just have to kill this thing and then we can get out of here.

[Level 250,000]

...

No matter. It's just a higher level than me. I've fought worse. It's a good thing I got the girls to stay back.

I gripped my blade and swung it. Suddenly, the boss twitched. Instantly, my body was dealt with countless slashes. They weren't deep but they did make me bleed.

Instinctively, I jumped back and landed on one of the chains. Forming Caustic Blue on my arm, I shot several blue arrows at the boss.

The boss responded by swinging its chains. The blades on the end of the chains somehow managed to deflect some of Lapis Lotus' arrows. I formed Rebellious Shield, blocking the projectiles of Lapis Lotus.

As Rebellious Shield dropped, I notice the boss fell to its knees. It took several deep breaths before standing up, roaring in my direction.

Did Lapis Lotus work? Or did swinging those chains just drain its stamina? If so, then that's very disadvantageous to itself. If Lapis Lotus did work, then I could continue sending more projectiles towards it and drain it of its energy and stamina.

The boss stopped roaring and started to run with extremely heavy footsteps. Every step it took rattled the chains in the room, including the one I was on.

Using Cursed White, I stepped off the chain and accelerated towards it, slamming it to the ground with Total Oppression.

Surprisingly, the boss kind of managed to resist Oppression, preventing itself from kissing the floor by crouching.

I dropped down, standing on top of its head. The boss growled before letting out another furious roar. A giant ray blasting from his mouth.

It attempted to get me off its head and hit me with its beam, but using Cursed White, I stayed on with no struggle.

As it realized it could not hit me from the ray coming from its mouth, it threw its chains. I watched as it launched the chains forward. The chains seemed to bounce off the wall because of the blades attached to them. The chains reflected off the walls several times before they made a move toward me.

I waited till the last second before activating my Altima. The wave of energy knocked the blades off course.

Right after that, I forced my blade through the boss' skull. Pulling it out, I started to circle around it, slashing every part of its body, including the chains.

After I had dealt enough damage, I landed on one of the chains again.

The chains all over the boss cracked before it shattered. That was the only thing that shattered, however. Its entire body crumbled. Then, appearing in its place was a slim figure with only one long chain with a jagged sickle attached to one end and a four-sided star at the other end. It almost resembled a kusarigama.

I got wary as the boss was finally giving off a hostile aura. Earlier, it approached me slowly because of the weight it had to carry. Now that it was free of that handicap, I'll need to keep my guard up.

The boss took one step forward and it appeared in front of me. My arms quickly moved and I slashed upwards. The boss fell back, throwing the star towards me. I quickly weaved, evading the star.

As I flipped backward, I performed Twisted Chaos Dance. The wave of distorted energy traveled towards the boss.

The boss must've noticed the wave of distorted energy coming towards it because the moment it was about to be struck, it dashed backward. Distorted energy followed the boss and it continued to move until it was up against a corner. Then, when it was about to hit the boss, it vanished, causing Twisted Chaos Dance to miss.

I gasped in shock and abruptly, I was knocked down to the ground and trapped in an armlock.

Though it had a slim physique, it was quite strong. Well, it's expected from someone who's carried massive chains with its body.

I attempted to get out of its grip but it was just too strong. Even equipping Osiris which boosts my strength wasn't enough.

Fuck... screw it!

I pointed my fingers at the boss' face and fired Piercing Red.

BANG!!

[Leveled up!]

The beam pierced through its head, exploding it in the process, and also drove through the interior of the dungeon.

The boss limped, freeing my arm. I got up and exited my Altima form. The soul of the boss lifted into the air and slowly approached me. I stared at it for a moment before turning away to the exit.

...

I got lucky. My arm is a bit sore since it had such a tight grip. If I had continued to fight, I would've expended more energy than I should have. Good thing I finished it right there.

For some reason, I didn't get to choose a skill from killing it. Strange... maybe I already have all the skills it has. Or maybe it just didn't want to work.

Well, enough of that. It's time to get out of here.

But as I was approaching the door, a distorted voice started speaking from behind me.

"What a waste. You're just gonna avoid it? A powerful soul?"

I stopped and turned around.

Crouching next to the boss' corpse was a figure dressed in a sleeveless vest, combat pants, and boots. The figure lifted his head and looked in my direction.

"Come on. Come and take it," He said, holding the boss' soul in his hand.

The man's face was half obscured; his mouth was the only part of his face that wasn't covered while his eyes were. The mask had three jagged slits, probably the eyeholes, and two lines down the middle of his mask. He had long, curly white hair, falling past his shoulders, black and sharpened nails, and extremely pale skin, almost like he was a vampire except he didn't have fangs. His smile was very eerie, sending chills up and down my entire body. It wasn't just that, though. His aura... it was... overwhelming, violent, and a scent of destruction... but it was frighteningly serene.

"Don't you know, you should absorb anything that is thrown at you. It's not like it'll kill you. After all, you are immortal, yes?"

I gulped, wondering how I should respond. He spoke in a polite manner, but there was overflowing hostility coming from those words.

"Y-yeah..." I responded and stood up. He tossed the soul towards me which I reluctantly grasped in my palm.

"Try not and waste it. You'll be needing it." He said as he turned around.

It slowly came to my mind, but I finally had the courage to speak. That mask... could he be?

"Wait!"

"Hmm?"

"Are you... are you perhaps an Enigma?"

He didn't speak, nor did he make a move. He just stood there, smiling at me.

"Till next time." He responded, avoiding my question.

And then, the moment I blinked, he was gone.

...was that an illusion? No, if it was, I wouldn't be feeling so much fear right now.

He had to be an Enigma. They are supposed to be super powerful, and the energy he gave off was definitely the power of a super-powerful person.

I took a deep breath before calling down. I then looked at the soul in my hand before absorbing it.

I don't have much use for it, but I'll just use it as a minion of some sort. Now then, it's time we got out of here.

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